


Taphophobia

by Tashilover



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Psychological Horror, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 22:52:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13557300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: Zelda learns a terrible secret.





	Taphophobia

Zelda ran her hand over the leather bound book, relishing in the feel of it. It was soft to the touch, smooth and light. After a hundred years of very little physical sensation, Zelda found herself touch-starved. She raised the book and took a long sniff. The smell of ink and leather was like fine wine.

"Do you want me to leave you alone with the book?" Purah teased.

Zelda held the book against her chest. "I can't tell you how good it feels to hold a book again. Link said he'll take me back to the castle and see if I can retrieve any of my old books, but I told him not to bother. I already know the library has suffered much rain damage."

"Well, you're more than welcomed to my library!" Purah made a dramatic sweep of her arm toward the direction of the shelves. "During the panic, I tried to save as many books as I could. If you can, you should visit Zora's Domain. They have an extension collection."

"Yes, Link and I plan to visit them soon. I'm so eager to see Sidon again. Last I saw him, he was barely the size of my knee."

"Let me grab you a bag so you can fill it with books. It'll be a long journey over there."

Purah jumped off of her seat and scurried off to the back room.

Zelda looked to the book shelves. Every available space was filled, books stacked and stuffed in every corner. The thought of reading a book again filled Zelda with glee. Though the current book she held in her hands, _The Economy Crisis of Termina_ , was not one she was eager to begin with. Gently, Zelda put it aside and walked over to the shelves, considering.

Yes, it'll be a long journey to Zora's Domain, but Zelda didn't like the idea of bogging down the horses with so many books. She was also wary with her relationship with Link. Her faithful knight was so different from the young man she knew a hundred years ago. Zelda would also like to pick out a few titles he might enjoy.

The first book Zelda grabbed was a cook book. A hundred years have passed and Link's appetite had not decreased a single bit. He might enjoy the recipes from long ago. The second book was a popular series that just came out before Calamity hit. Zelda's heart sank knowing it'll never be finished. Still, she was eager to read it.

Zelda skimmed the titles, considering each one when her eye caught sight of something. It had the symbol of the Sheikah printed on the spine.

She pulled it out and casually flipped through it. Judging from the written notes and drawings, this was Purah's journal on the Resurrection Shrine.

Zelda's thoughts flashed back to that day. Goddess, what would've happened if Link had died? He almost did die. Zelda could still feel his warm blood beneath her hands, the horrific curnch of his broken ribs shifting from within. The loss of his memories was the price for his survival, for Hyrule's survival, but the guilt still sat heavily in Zelda's stomach.

She continued to casually look through, reading the occasional entry. Most of it were observation notes, nothing Zelda didn't know herself. Then, two-thirds into the book, Zelda came upon a passage that looked like it was written in a hurry. Ink lines were everywhere, making it hard to read.

_The shrine was built to house... will recover... if placed inside, the individual could make a full recovery... but... evidence... memories... after much study... I discovered... loss of memories were not the result of the shrine itself._

Zelda blinked. What? Did she read that right? She read the line again with greater scrutiny and no, she wasn't wrong. Purah directly stated memory loss was not the result of the shrine.

Zelda didn't understand. Purah had directly told her, even right after Link was put into the shrine, memory loss was a possibility due to the intense recovery and long sleep. Did Purah lie?

Zelda continued reading. Her heart started to beat a little faster.

_After experimenting with a willing subject... I found... the individual in the shrine... **is not unconscious during the healing procedure.**_

Zelda dropped the book.

The first time Zelda laid eyes on the shrine, she was only ten years old and wanted to see it, curious how it worked. Purah demonstrated how it operated by lowering the top down, connecting it to its base, sealing it off to the world. Zelda said it reminded her of a coffin, and she cringed at the thought of someone getting stuck inside, unable to move, unable to get out. To her, the shrine was no different than being buried alive.

"Don't worry, your majesty," Purah had reassured her. "The individual inside will be sleeping, so they wouldn't even know."

"Oh goddess," Zelda whispered in horror. Her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest. "Link was awake the entire time."

Purah came back into the room, folding out a large blue bag. "Here we go, this should do nicely... Princess? Is something wrong?"

Zelda turned to her. "You lied to me."

There was pause as Purah looked to the floor, recognized the book, and looked back up. "Ah," she said. "I assumed you read about experiment."

"You knew... the entire time..."

"Link needed to be in the shrine. Without him, all of Hyrule would have fell."

Zelda felt like she was going to be sick. What was it like, suddenly waking up and finding yourself in complete darkness, unable to move? Did Link scream? Did he scream for Zelda, for his mother, for anyone to come save him? Did he try to get out? Zelda groaned, imagining Link clawing at the shrine, leaving bloody trail marks on the ceiling, only for the damn machine to heal them again and again.

Link didn't lose his memories because of the intense healing. He lost them because he went _insane_.

Zelda slapped a hand over her mouth, gagging.

"It's all right, Princess," Purah said gently, coming up to her. "Given the circumstances, what other choice did we have?"

"I don't know...! But to leave Link in that torture chamber...!"

"It's fine. It's not like he remembers it."

Something inside Zelda snapped and her mind flashed with burning anger. She twisted sharply, brought up her knee and cracked it against Purah's jaw.

With a cry Purah fell back, clutching at her bloody mouth.

"You...!" Zelda advanced on her. "You think this is how it works? The ends justifies the means?"

"Link understood the consequences when he became your knight!" Purah yelled. "Everyone understood that when they became champions-!"

"Not this! He should have been given a choice!"

"And I wasn't the one who made that decision. _You_ did."

Zelda stopped.

Goddess, that's right. On that day a hundred years ago, she told those two Shekiah guardsmen to take Link to the Resurrection Shrine. She was the one who stuck Link in that hellhole. It was her.

"I didn't know," Zelda said, shaking her head. "I didn't know..."

On the floor, Purah spat out blood. "We all had to make sacrifices that day. We all had to make decisions we'll regret for the rest of our lives. This was no different."

Zelda felt the urge to hit her again. She knew no amount of violence was going to change what she did. All they could do was move forward and learn from their mistakes.

Zelda turned to the door. "I'm going," she said. "And I am not coming back. Once I gather those still faithful to me, I will dismantle the Resurrection Shrine."

"You can't!" Purah cried out. "That's Sheikah culture! Princess-!"

"I am not a princess," Zelda said. "I am _queen_ , Purah, and my word is law. Goodbye."

With that, she walked out of the observatory and into the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> I am claustrophobic, so the thought of Link possibly being awake in that tiny dark space makes me want to curl up and faint.


End file.
